Some of the Best Red Velvet Goodies in London
This Weekend’s Market Finds
This weekend we went to Venn Street Market for the first time, Real Food Fest at Southbank Centre and La Dolce Vita. Here are some of our highlights!
Venn Street Market
The garlic mayo wrap from Arancini Brothers @ Venn St. Market —might just be my new obsession!
Lamb burger with homemade red onion & marmalade relish from Garlic Wood Farm @ Venn St. Market
Chocolate cake pop from Rosalind Miller Cakes/Peggy’s Cupcakes @ Venn St. Market
Red Velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting from Rosalind Miller Cakes/Peggy’s Cupcakes @ Venn St. Market
Lamb & mint sausage from the gourmet hotdog stand @ Real Food Festival.
Cheese pierogi filled with cottage cheese, potatoes & fried onions from the Polish Deli London @ Real Food Festival. Not the type of pierogies I’m used to having, but still delicious!
Billionaire brownie from Outsider Tart @ Real Food Festival
A cannoli @ La Dolce Vita
Mushroom & cheese calzone @ La Dolce Vita
Italian pork sandwich @ La Dolce Vita
Best Lunch Spots Near Old Street
- Nincomsoup the tomato & fired mozzarella soup is AMAZING
- White Cross Market you really can’t go wrong
- Grab Thai love the crispy tofu pad thai & the thai iced tea!
- Silvio’s great quiche & salad deal
- Broadgate Farmers’ Market so many choices! 2nd & 4th Thursdays of the month
The Avalon
We’ve been wanting to check out the Avalon near Clapham South for awhile now so we decided to go for our weekly Sunday roast. We loved the decor in the dining room and thought it had a great Sunday afternoon vibe.
Our meal started out with a bowl of tomato and basil soup with a slice of toasted bread, which was the perfect compliment to the wind and rain outside.
We had the Locksdrove farm free range roast chicken with roasted potatoes, carrots and peas. It was your standard roast, but the chicken stood out from other roasts we’ve had because of it’s quality. And the fact that it was cooked to perfection!
Because one of us likes to eat like a five-year old sometimes we also had the macaroni and cheese and thick hand cut chips with béarnaise sauce. Both were delicious, but the mac n cheese could have been cheesier.
We were disappointed that our mains took so long to come out of the kitchen we ended up waiting an hour for them. We understand it was busy, but other people who came in a half hour after us had eaten and finished their meals before we even got ours.
Our meal ended with two desserts. We had the sticky toffee pudding with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. We thought the sticky toffee pudding would have been better paired with custard, but that might be because we think everything is better with custard.
We also had the apple tart with a dollop of clotted cream. It was a little dry, but the clotted cream helped to make up for that.
Overall we had a great meal and really enjoyed the atmosphere. We know we’ll be going back to the Avalon because somebody got food envy when the table next to us got hamburgers. If you’re looking for a place to have a nice, leisurely catch up with your friends then a trip to the Avalon is a must. And don’t forget to book in advance because the dining room was quite full!
LondonFoodies’ Favourites
Moitié-moitié fondue with new potatoes, bread and spatzli at St. Moritz
Grilled cheese from Norbiton Fine Cheese Co.
Tagliatelle carbonara & Pomodoro e mozzarella from Vapiano
Prime British beef burger, straw fries, black bean sliders & macaroni &cheese from the Plough Bar and Kitchen
Vegetarian fish n’ chips & bangers & mash at Anchor Bankside
Powder Keg Diplomacy
We venture up to St. John’s Hill quite often, but never really go beyond the Plough. Luckily on Saturday we did and discovered Powder Keg Diplomacy. Not only did we love the food, but we also loved the decor! If we could get their interior designer to come do our flat we’d be in heaven!! Their decor is Victorian with a modern feel. And their attention to detail was amazing, not only in their appearance, but also their food.
We sat in their Conservatory Dining Room and started off with their homemade lemonade. Since it was sunny and warm out this was just what we needed!
For our mains we had a Full English breakfast and a Vegetarian breakfast. We both loved our meals. The Full English consisted of sausage, mushroom, bacon, tomato, toast and a fried egg. It was one of the tastiest we’ve had in awhile. Of particular note were the mushrooms, which were juicy and delicious.
The Vegetarian was mushroom, greens, tomato, fried egg, and cheese sauce stacked on a thick slice of toast aka one of the best vegetarian breakfasts we’ve ever had. We don’t know what the ‘greens’ were, but they were absolutely delicious. What we liked about this veggie option is that they didn’t try to make up for the lack of meat with meat substitutes. Also the ingredients were all fresh and UK sourced.
We ended our meal with a slice of vanilla cheesecake, which we thought was a little small for the price.
Overall, we loved the food and Powder Keg Diplomacy’s attention to detail. Our only wish is that their dinner menu (which we had a quick look at) had more veggie options because we’re sure they would be amazing! If you’re looking for a tasty brunch in the Clapham Junction area then Powder Keg Diplomacy is worth a visit!
Osteria Antica Bologna
After living up in Camden Town for the past year we moved down to the Clapham area and have been slowly, but surely eating our way through the area. Last night we ended up at Osteria Antica Bologna. We’ve passed by the place tons of times, but it’s always looked full so we never stopped in. Since we were having an early dinner we managed to grab some seats in the back room we didn’t know existed.
Our dinner started with some nice vino and warm ciabatta bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
We had ordered bruschetta al pomodoro before the ciabatta arrived, but it all worked out because as you see there was ALOT of fresh tomato. The bruschetta was AMAZING. The only places its ever been better was when we had it sitting on the beach in Alghero Sardinia.
For our mains we had tonnarelli alla carbonara and gnocchi with savoy cabbage in a cream sauce. The carbonara was not your stereotypical carbonara and not really to our taste. The tonnarelli noodles gave it a completely different texture, while some might enjoy it we weren’t fans. The gnocchi was our favourite of the two. It was very flavorful and the savoy cabbage was complimentary to the cream sauce.
We ended the night with a torta di pere e cioccolato (chocolate & pear tart) with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The tart was slightly bland and dry, but the chunks of pear and the vanilla ice cream compensated for that.
Overall, the service was ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC and a definitely a nice change from the chain restaurants that have been invading Northcote Road. While we’re not sure we’ll go back (so many places to try!!), it was worth the trip. And for anyone looking for an intimate Italian restaurant in the Clapham Junction area this is a good bet.
WE’RE BACK!!!!
With one us finishing uni/starting work and the other finishing up their master’s degree we neglected our blogging and tweeting. Sorry about that! But now that we have our lives in order (sort of!) and we’re coming back with a vengeance!
Watch this space for our restaurant reviews, London event listings, and our travels!
-A & G
